Game device.



J. c. WlLSON-HUGHES..

GAME DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MN- 29. I917.

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J. C. WILSON-HUGHES.

GAME DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, I917.

Patented Dec. 4, 1917;.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 29, 1917. Serial No. 145,147.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. WILSON- Hoerrns, a citizen of Great Britain, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to games of the type wherein a ball or similar article which is capable of being thrown without injury, is bounced from a substantially level playing surface into one of one or more receptacles or stalls which may or may not have different values in figuring up the score of each player.

I am aware that games have been devised wherein a resilient ball is to be bounced from a substantially dead playing surface. My invention is of the type wherein the ball maybe non-elastic or substantially so, and the playing surface is resilient. I prefer to use a wooden ball, and for a playing sur face, to secure silence, resiliency and adjustability, a net with a relatively large mesh. 7 r

My purpose is to provide a silent resilient playing surface of such character that it and its attachments can be folded compactly with great rapidity or can be extended into playing position with equal facility.

In the drawings Figurelis a perspective View of my game in position for playing. II ig. 2 shows in perspective the side guards and legs folded in, and the frame half folded. Fig. 3 shows in perspective, the frame completely folded. Fig. 4 is a plan detail viewof my preferred type of elevated stalls. Fig. 5 shows in perspective, detail of one of the folding legs." Fig. 6 is a plan View of a modification of the device extended for playing. Fig. 7 shows this form about to be folded. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective View showing a method of attaching the net to the side bars. Fig. 9 is an elevation of a detachable set of stalls. g

In the drawings, 10 and 11 are the side bars of one rectangular frame, and 20 and 21 of the other. 12 and 13 are the cross bars of one frame and 22 and 23 of the other. These cross bars are preferably of rectangular cross section. I will call 13 and 22 the inside cross bars, and 12 and 23 the outside cross bars which are set in from theoutside ends of the side bars to permit rollers 40 and 41 to be located so as to extend across the front and back outside ends of the playing surface.

P ented Dec. 4, lll'jfi Side barslO and 20 are hinged together at 14, and 11 and 21 at 15, both hinges be ing preferably at the bottom.

At or near the junctions .of cross bar 23 wlth side bars 20 and 21, and of cross bar 12 with side bars 10 and 11, I will call the outside corners of the frame, and near these corners I locate folclable legs which may be of any desired type.

I prefer to utilize for legs, the adj-lusting pegs for tightening and locking the stretching rilglers 40 and 41. Each peg 42 consists of a wire rod angutarly bent at a right angle to form aipeg part and a handle or leg part 43.

lid

Each stretching roll has one or more holes 1.

44,45 through which a peg can pass into adjoining hole 46 in an outside cross bar thuslocking the roller. v v

To use as a leg, the part 43 must be long enough to extend below the frame, and to hold it in the down position, I prefer to cut a slot 47 from each roller hole into which 43can be pushed as shown in Fig. .5 to keep it from turning. I may use a: rubber cap 49 on the end of each leg.

The inside cross bars 13 and 22 are far enough apart to permit a ball such as- B to drop in between them, and each carries, staggered relation, projections such as 24 and 25 which form between themstatls open at the top from which, when a ball drops therein, it cannot escape. When the device is folded, these stalls-being so divided, part being carried by one frame, and part by the other, are out of the way and the projections 24 and 25 being relatively slight, are not likely :to be knocked off.

A resilient net N is stretched over the fleettom part ofboth fnames and between strletching rollers 40 and 41. It may be sl-idabl-yor otherwise fastened to the side barslO, 11,

20,- 21,-a-nd to :the. inside .cross bars 13 and 22,-but-should not be attached to the outside cross bars 12. and 28. This net preferably that the stalls between 24 and 25 shall the elevated: above'i-t. The rollers .OEZUIld be locked in position by .anysuitablegdevice.

extends under the bottom of the frame {so 1.

'Ihe one shown comprises pegs 42 each of a chat 18 is threaded through the meshes ofthe net, and is then lightly tacked in place by means of nails 19. This leaves a channel between the side bar, such as 11 and ,cleat l8, .through which the not can slip while he ing tightened.

Cleats similar to '18 are preferably used at the'bottom of inside cross bars 13 and 22, v and being loosely tacked in place, permit the net to slip while being tightened, whereby it can be kept taut-at the bottem of the stalls under projections 24- and25. While it is kept taut, a ball is likely to bounce out if it bounces in, thus adding to the interest of the game. I jlfprefer to use also foldable side guards G, G,.G[, G, one of'which is pivoted on each side of each frame so as to be foldable down on top thereof as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. As shown, each guardconsists of a three sided rectangular metal rod 60, 61, 62 which is bent-in at each end 63 and 64 to enter a suitable hole in a cross barsuch as 22,13, 12 or 23. This bent rod is covered with netting or other suitable material 65. This netting 65 is preferably allowed to be slack so that if the-balls-strike it, they will be caught and held. A I As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, I prefer that these guards shall be high enough so that when folded, they almost meet, whereby together with the rest of the frame and the net, they form a cage to receive and hold the balls B when the device is folded.

InFigs. 6 and 7, I show a modified construction in which the side bars 70, 71, 72, '73 are hinged together, and the outside bars I l2'an'd 23' together with'the rollers 40 and 41 are substantially the same as in the other construction, but the inside cross bars 74 and 75 come close together and areconnected to 12 and 23 by longitudinal brace bars 76 and 77. Thesebars74c, 75, 76, 77 are preferably not a'shigh as 12,23,70, 71, 72, 73 wherebyth'e sets ojf stalls 80 and 81 in which each stall isshownas circular, can be set down with their'top's flush. with the tops of the side bars-"Stalls 80' and 81 are carried by split disks86 and 87 which may each be fixed to bars 74, 76 and 75 77 respectively, the middle stall- 82being split 'asshown in Fig. 6.

{No 7 side: guards are shownv in this construction. I

The legs shownin this construction are of a well known folding type while the pegs 32 are the same as 42 except that the handle part is too short to serve as a leg.

In Fig. 9, I show a variation of this construction in which 83 is a solid disk of paste board, or other material, from which project downwardly, spring fingers 8 L which permit it to be readily attached to or detached from the inside cross bars 7% and 75. In this construction, the stalls 82 are shown as quite deep. Iprefer that the two ends of the playing surface, and the two frames shall slope toward the inside or center as the ball is less likely to get out of control with this arrangement. This slope is usually a natural result of the wooden construction.

I also prefer to provide a strap S which may be fastened to a suitable button or knob 38 and is of such length that it can pass entirely around the folded frame, thus holding all parts in the closed position.

My game is played by throwing the ball from the hand or otherwise onto the netting in such manner that as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 1, it will rebound into one of the stalls between 13 and 22, or SO, 81, or 82 as shown in the other construction. These stalls may be numbered or painted to indicate a different value or a penalty.

A dead ball used on a resilient playing surface is much better to use indoors than a live, resilient ball on a dead surface.

The stalls shown in Fig. 9 may be slipped on the frame when it is upside down, in which case the legs have no function.

I claim:

vLA game apparatus having a resilient playing surface formed of two rectangular frames each of which has side bars and a front and back crossbar, the side bars of one being hinged to the side bars of the other, stretching rollers which extend across the outside ends of the playing surface, a

resilient net which extends between the side bars and is attached to the rollers, inside bars with projections which form one or more stalls each open at the top and elevated above the net, and adjusting pegs for the rollers which serve also as legs.

with inside cross bars proximate the hinged ends of the side bars each havmg one or more projections which form stalls open at the top, and foldable legs as described.

,3. In a game apparatus, the combination of two rectangular frames each having resilient netting stretched thereon and hinged together, with foldable side guards, and

stalls open at the top and elevated above the net proximate the junction of such frames, together with foldable legs at the outside corners of the frames.

4. A game apparatus having a resilient playing surface formed of two rectangular frames each of which has side bars and inside and an outside cross bar, the side bars of one being hinged to the side bars of the other, stretching rollers which extend across the outside ends of the playing surface, a resilient net which is stretched between the rollers, together with one or more stalls each open at the top and elevated above the net.

5. A game apparatus having a resilient playing surface, formed of two rectangular frames each of which has side bars and a front and a back cross bar the side bars of one being hinged to the side bars of the other, stretching rollers which extend across the outside ends of the playing surface, a resilient net which is stretched between the rollers, together with one or more stalls each open at the top and elevated above the net, such stalls being so divided that part are carried by one frame and part by the other.

6. A game apparatus having a resilient playing surface formed of two rectangular frames each of which has side bars and an inside and an outside cross bar, the side bars of one being hinged to the side bars of the other, stretching rollers which extend across the outside ends of the playing surface, and cleats lightly tacked along the bottom of the side bars, together with a resilient net which is attached to the stretching rollers and is threaded on to the cleats, and inside cross bars proximate the hinged ends of the side bars each having one or more projections which form stalls open at the top.

7. A game apparatus having a resilient playing surface formed of two rectangular frames each of which has side bars and an inside and an outside cross bar, the side bars of one being hinged to the side bars of the other, stretching rollers which extend across the outside ends of the playing surface, and cleats lightly tacked along the bottom of the side bars, together with a resilient net which is attached to the stretching rollers and is threaded on to the cleats, foldable side guards carried by the side bars of such size as to almost touch when folded, and inside cross bars proximate the hinged ends of the side bars each having one or more projections which form. stalls open at the top.

8. A game apparatus having a resilient playing surface formed of two rectangular frames each of which has side bars and an inside and an outside cross bar, the side bars of one being hinged to the side bars of the other, stretching rollers which extend across the outside ends of the playing surface, a resilient net which is stretched between the rollers, together with one or more stalls each open at the top and elevated above the net, and angular-1y bent adjusting pegs each of i which passes through a roller into an outside cross bar and has a part adapted to serve as a leg.

In testlmony whereof I aihx my signature.

JOHN C. WILSON-HUGHES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents. each, by addressing the Uommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. (2. 

